LOVE Island’s Chris Taylor appeared very unsteady on his skates when he was seen for the first time with his Dancing On Ice partner, Vanessa Bauer.
The new series of the ITV skating show will kick off in January with a host of famous faces.
Chris, 34, stepped onto the ice rink, braving the cold in a blue jumper and black and white tracksuit bottoms, complemented by a headband, elbow pads, and knee pads.
Pro skater Vanessa was seen gliding beside him, appearing to help him maintain his balance with her arm in front of him.
Another photo captured Chris stumbling behind her as he tried to keep up.
Chris took to Instagram on Wednesday to reveal his Dancing On Ice pairing.
He posted a series of snaps from the rink alongside Vanessa who was all smiles.
Chris captioned the post: “Bloody DELIGHTED to say me & Vanessa are skating together on @dancingonice 2025.
“Swipe to see how in sync we are(n’t…yet. I’ll accept 51% responsibility for that)
“Quivering with excitement to start skating with V-force & learn some sort of grace/decorum (& possibly improve my still quaver like posture).
“Message to future Vanessa – I’m sorry. This will make sense in about a week (long/short – I’m quite annoying)”
Fans rushed to the comments to share their excitement with one writing: “Yaaaass! You two are going to smash it!!”
Whilst another added: “You’re gonna be absolutely fabulous!”
A third penned: “Yayyyyyyyyy!!! @vanessabauer_skates has always been my favourite celebrity skater every year! You are my favourite celebrity this year so this a double win!!!”
Many fans speculated that a showmance may be on the way, with one writing: “Oh he will fall in love with her,” and another adding: “She will be dating him soon.”
This is not the first time that Vanessa has danced with a reality TV star.
In 2019, Vanessa was paired with former Love Island star Wes Nelson, where they finished in the runner-up spot.
Vanessa also danced with reality TV King and Love Island’s Joey Essex last series and ended up in fourth place.
She enjoyed a win on her first series on the show back in 2018, when she won alongside TV personality Jake Quickenden.
Now Vanessa is hoping to replicate the same success with Chris, who will join the likes of Hollyoaks’ Chelsee Healey, EastEnders star Charlie Brooks and Coronation Street’s Sam Aston.
Chris is also in good company with a number of other reality stars – including Towie’s Dan Edgar, 34.
The Sun revealed earlier this week that a new feud has erupted as Essex lad Dan begged NOT to be paired with skate siren Vanessa.
Dan is said to have made the plea out of loyalty for his mate Joey Essex, who had a fling with Vanessa during his time on the show in 2023.
A source said:“Dan didn’t want anything to distract him from the competition and he didn’t want to have to worry about what Joey was thinking.
“Why create any problems when it’s easily avoided by asking for a different dancer?
“Insiders say it was discussed as part of his discussions about joining the show and didn’t cause any problems.”
